


Estrella

by Scorpio71



Category: The Losers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Estrella Marie Alvarez, Family, Feels, Google Translate Spanish', Kid Fic, Life Changing Incidents, M/M, Male Slash, Minor Injuries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-22
Updated: 2014-11-29
Packaged: 2018-02-26 15:18:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2656802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scorpio71/pseuds/Scorpio71
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cougar has a surprise waiting for him after a mission.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting Estrella

**Author's Note:**

> GENRE: AU, kid-fic  
> DISCLAIMER: Diggle and Jock, DC/Vertigo

The mission ended like any other; they arrived at base and were quickly hustled off to the infirmary to get their injuries looked at by someone with more medical training then Cougar’s field medic certification. 

They had the usual assortment of bruises and pulled muscled (all of them), a few new holes (of both the bullet and knife varieties), a few tender scorch marks (that last explosion was a little too close for comfort), and a set of matching concussions (Roque and Jensen)…not to mention Athlete’s Foot all around.

They were all looking forward to some down time. A week or so to rest and recuperate, another week to bar hop and get in trouble, and then another week or two training before the next assignment. That was the pattern they were used to; the pattern they were expecting. This time, the pattern broke and things went…differently.

The first indication that things were going in unexpected directions was General Coleman showing up at the base infirmary looking for Clay.

Jensen blinked slowly, his vision still blurred and doubled from his concussion. “Was tha’ the old man?”

Cougar was frowning at the door the two had just left through.

“Si.”

Jensen’s eyes slid closed again. “Oh.” He sighed. “Am I in trouble again?”

Cougar shrugged one shoulder slowly even though Jensen wasn’t looking.

Roque snorted in dark amusement and then moaned softly when his own concussion complained. “You’re always in trouble. “ he managed to growl past the pain in his skull.

Pooch stopped picking at the brace strapped to his left wrist and smirked at Cougar.

“Don’t think it was JJ this time.”

Cougar arched an eyebrow up in question even as Jensen and Roque risked the pain of bright florescent lighting by squinting in his direction.

“The old man was giving Cougs here the hairy eyeball this time.” Pooch chuckled softly, “What’d you do, man?”

Cougar, for his part, just looked highly confused. As far as he knew he hadn’t done anything bad enough to draw the personal attention of the General. Okay, yeah, there were a half dozen things that if it became public knowledge then Clay would be expected to issue him some CAPE, but that was all piddling stuff. Stuff that the old man himself didn’t need to deal with.

In the end, all they could do was wait for Clay to return and hope it wasn’t anything too bad.

***

It was nearly twenty minutes before Clay came back. His expression was the one that he wore when he wanted to scowl and yell, but knew he couldn’t. Whatever it was the General wanted, it had upset Clay…badly.

He stalked across the open ward to the bed Cougs was stretched out on and then paused, a flash of uncertainty flickering over his face almost too quick to see. Then he breathed in deep as if to brace himself and stepped up to Cougar’s side. He leaned down slightly to speak at least semi-privately.

“Cougs…I, ah…I need you to come with me for a bit. There’s…ah…a bit of a situation you need to be briefed on.”

Cougar glanced up into Clay’s face for a moment, concern warring with curiosity. Finally he nodded in agreement and slowly pushed himself out of the bed.

Pooch looked over at Roque to see him frowning even as he tried to bring Clay into focus through the splitting pain in his skull. Pooch, taking pity, asked the question he knew Roque would want to know.

“Solo op, Colonel? Or is some other team poaching our sniper?” Pooch eyed Cougar and his myriad injuries with mild concern. “No rest for the wicked, eh?”

Instead of a smirk or a cranky grumble about people poaching his sniper, Clay grimaced.

“No…no op. Just, ah…personal family stuff.”

Cougar’s eyes snapped to the back of Clay’s head, instantly on alert even as he followed Clay out of the ward.

Pooch, Roque, and Jensen all shared confused looks. Family stuff? That didn’t make sense. Cougar didn’t have any family. His parents and younger sister died in a car crash just over four years ago and his two brothers were also dead; one to a homemade weapon in prison and the other to a drug overdose. He was the last of his family still alive; how could he have private family stuff to deal with?

“Hey JJ,” Pooch said, “Cougs ever mention any family to you? Cousins maybe?”

Jensen shook his head and then instantly regretted it. Moaning and reaching up to press the heel of his palm to his forehead he grated out. “No. Never.”

***

It was close to two hours later before the Colonel returned with Cougar. The Colonel walked in first with Cougar just behind him. Roque, Pooch, and Jensen opened their mouths to speak and just as instantly all three of them closed their mouths shut again. 

Cougar stepped slightly out from behind Clay, in his arms was a small bundle of blankets. The three men stared at that bundle. Clay stared back at them, but Cougar was entranced by the item in his arms.

Suddenly, the bundle gave a small cry and a tiny fist shot out of the blankets. Cougar tipped his head down towards the bundle and whispered softly, “Shush… Es pequeño bien.”

“That’s a baby!” Jensen exclaimed.

“What the fu…” Roque bit back on what he’d been about to say. He didn’t want to actually curse in front of an infant.

Cougar looked up at them, an odd expression on his face. His eyes were a little wild, but there was a new softness to his smile that hadn’t been there before. “This is Estrella. My daughter.”

Jensen looked at the blanket wrapped infant in Cougar’s arms with confusion. Slowly his expression turned to one of deep-seated hurt. “Daughter?” His voice was a mix of curiosity and accusation. 

Cougar’s eyes flickered over to Jensen and he opened his mouth to say something, but then Estrella made a little cry and he looked down at the baby in his arms and fussed with her blanket.

“Er…” Clay glanced from Cougar to Jensen before saying, “Remember last fall when Cougs and JJ had that little… tiff?”

Pooch and Roque shared a meaningful look. They remembered. That hadn’t been a little tiff so much as a full-blown lovers spat. That fight had messed up the whole team dynamic for a while and they had thought that Clay might actually reassign one or both of them. Oh, they had made-up after a while and were now tighter than ever, but it had been a tense month and a half.

Jensen lay back on his bed and huffed, crossed his arms over his chest, and muttered, “that wasn’t my fault…”

“Well,” Clay cleared his throat and ignored his pouting tech specialist, “it seems Cougs went to a club and met a girl. Estrella here is the result of that one night stand.”

Roque sighed exasperated and growled at Cougar, “Damn man, you should know better. You always got to wrap it. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: condoms! Every damn time!”

“Roque…not now.” Clay growled. Then he sighed and reached up with one hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. “There’s more.”

“More?” Pooch demanded. “How can there be more?”

“Because the girl used a fake ID to get into the club. She gave Cougar a fake name and said she was 22.” 

Clay looked up with a tired expression on his face. 

“But the truth is that she was the 19-year-old daughter of a Senator. So now there’s going to be a bit of a cover-up so this scandal doesn’t get out, and Cougar here gets to be a single father.”

The entire team turned their heads to look at Cougar, but he was looking down at the infant in his arms, a completely bemused and infatuated look on his face. It was blatantly obvious that he was already wrapped around her little finger and happy as a clam to be there.

Then he glanced up at Jensen, a look of wonder and joy on his face. “Soy un papá.”


	2. Jealousy and Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jensen’s not sure of his place in this new family situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GENRE: AU, kid-fic  
> WARNING: Angsty feels  
> DISCLAIMER: Diggle & Jock, DC/Vertigo

Jensen was scowling due to the lingering concussion headache, and not out of a sense of jealousy. ‘Cause that would be sad and pathetic and he wasn’t quite ready to admit to that level of asshole-ishness.

He watched, silently, as Cougar held Estrella close to his chest, humming softly under his breath while feeding her a bottle. It was an adorable scene of domesticity and family. It should have warmed his heart.

It most definitely should _not_ have made him feel like an outsider watching his own relationship crumble around his feet.

Jensen bit his lip and watched as Cougar popped the bottle out from between Estrella’s little bow shaped lips before setting it down on the table. He shifted her tiny body around so that her head was resting on his shoulder and then he gently patted her on the back to burp her. Their dark hair mingled together and Jensen had to admit they were beautiful: father and daughter.

He just couldn’t see a way for him to fit into that little bubble of happiness they shared.

In his head, Jensen knew he should be happy for Cougar. The man had lost every single one of his family members until he was the last one left. He had suffered grief and loss and guilt,…and now he had a family again in the form of a gorgeous little daughter.

A daughter, whose entire existence was owed to the fact that Cougar had an affair during their last big fight. And now, seeing how deliriously happy Cougar was, Jensen couldn’t help but think that he’d been holding Cougar back. After all, he couldn’t give Cougar kids. He couldn’t offer him a real home or family.

He should let Cougar go. Set him free to find a woman that could become a wife to Cougar and a mother to little Estrella. Maybe even give Cougar more children.

Yeah…he should back out gracefully.

He didn’t want to though. He wanted to curl up in Cougar’s arms and exchange soft touches and sexy kisses. He wanted that soft accented voice to whisper of love and devotion in his ears. He wanted forever with Cougar and that made him feel petty and selfish. Estrella actually _needed_ Cougar…it was more than mere want or desire.

He watched as Estrella gave a tiny burp which was then followed by what seemed to be an entire river of spit up all down Cougar’s back. Jensen couldn’t help it, he snorted out a laugh. Cougar turned and shot him an exasperated look from eyes ringed with exhaustion.

“Here,” Cougar walked over to him in three quick strides and bent down while shifting Estrella away from his shoulder. “You are healed enough to hold our daughter.”

Jensen’s arms automatically reached for the baby and shifted her into the most comfortable position; one he’d perfected after his niece was born. His brain, on the other hand, was suffering the equivalent of the ‘blue screen of death’ and was desperately trying to reboot.

“ _Our_ daughter?”

Cougar pursed his lips and looked at him like he was being particularly dumb.

“Si. Mine, yours, ours… _Our_ daughter.”

Then Cougar’s eyes got wide and uncertainty washed across his face.

“Unless you did not want…” He trailed off and reached out to take Estrella back, “I should not have assumed.”

Jensen tightened his hold on Estrella and curled down around her to block Cougar.

“No! I do! I do want!” And he suddenly did want this, to be a real part of this small family – with every fiber of his being he wanted this. “I…I just didn’t think you’d, uh…want me to want this.”

Cougar was back to looking at him like he was stupid again.

“Of course I do. Idiota.” One big gun callused hand reached out to curl around the back of Jensen’s neck. “You and me…forever, si?”

Jensen smiled shyly and nodded, “Yeah, forever.”

Just then, Estrella wiggled in his arms and he looked down at her. The jealously that had been swamping him earlier was slowly turning to hope. It was best to make sure before he fell too far in love with her.

“You sure?” He swallowed his pride to admit. “I’m not what most people would think of as good parent material.”

“Bah,” Cougar waved the concern away before leaning down and bussing a kiss onto Jensen’s forehead, “You will make a wonderful mother.”

Then, smirking wickedly, Cougar stood back and peeled off his soiled tee shirt while Jensen sputtered. A hundred comebacks about his manliness rolled through his brain, but the truth was; Jensen was grinning ridiculously wide and was happier than he’d been in a long long time.

After all, he and Cougar had a brand new daughter. A family…


End file.
